About this time every winter, I begin to yearn for an injection of more colour in my world. So when I saw that Yellow was this morning’s one-word prompt from The Daily Post, I felt compelled to take part.

The following photos were previously shared on my blog over the years, but I thought it fitting – as well as worthy – to give them a second look.

Vivian K. Perry here, back for another guest blog on Jennifer’s Journal. I have new photos to share today!

We had snowy, blowy weather last night, which gave us pretty windows to look through when we woke up. As much as Maisie and I don’t like it when it gets too cold, sometimes snow can add an aesthetic appeal to our long winters.

The first pic shows some of Jennifer’s other cats.

Now on to us real kitties…

At first, I thought I would like it outdoors today.I quickly changed my mind.Maisie seems oblivious to my discomfort. (Please disregard the high-tech reading lamp)I am quickly let back inside, and then……the shoe is on the other paw!Ha! Snow on her nose 🙂

Thanks for taking a look through the window on our world.
See you next time!

On Saturday, I saw this photo on Facebook that brought back a memory for me. Also on that day, I read the above prompt from the Daily Post. So I couldn’t resist sharing said event from my childhood.

My friend Nancy, my younger sister Lynn and I were walking home from school one late afternoon in St. John’s, when we noticed from the Boulevard the many ice pans on the surface of Quidi Vidi Lake. I think it might have been spring thaw.

Quidi Vidi in summer…and winter

Quicker than you can say “last one in is a rotten egg,” the three of us ran down to the lake’s edge, dropped our book-bags on the shore, and proceeded to jump from ice pan to ice pan across the surface of the deep water. Not once did either of us think anything could go wrong. I guess we were so young and naive, we had no fear of the risk we were taking.

Luckily, Nancy’s father happened to drive along the Boulevard while we were playing there. Before we knew it, we were swiftly ordered into his car and driven home. At the time, we didn’t feel so lucky, but I shudder at the thought of what could have gone down if he hadn’t. Perhaps all of us!

Of course, our parents were outraged and we all received our punishment. The next time I saw my friend Nancy, she told me that her father gave her a good spanking.

“And that was it?” I asked, incredulous. My parents didn’t give spankings as discipline. They knew what really hurt: grounding my sister and me for a full week. No outdoors for seven days except to go to school.

I remember thinking at the time that Nancy had gotten off easy compared to us. Yes, she’d endured a spanking, but at least her suffering was “behind” her. 😉

Now I realize Mom and Dad had wanted us to appreciate how dangerous our activity was, by giving us a whole week to think about it. Never again did we dare to risk drowning by “copying pans.”

*copy: To jump from one floating pan of ice to another in a children’s game of following or copying a leader when the ice is breaking up in spring in a cove or harbour. A game of follow-my-leader over the broken ice, every cake of which, it may be, sinks under the weight of a lad. It is a training for the perilous work of seal hunting, which came later in the life of Newfoundlanders. You will see the merry young lads ‘copying’ as they call it—jumping from pan to pan till far out in the Cove in fearless rivalry. ~ Dictionary of Newfoundland English

During our trip to Italy and France in 2011, I took hundreds of photos, the majority of which were daytime shots. Here are some favourite captures from two of France’s cities in late evening and night.

I still find them as inviting as ever.

Cannes

Lights wink on as dusk descends.Window-shopping in Cannes; almost as fun as the real thing!Boulevard de la Croisette invites us to explore. Ritz Carlton on the right.The Croisette stretches 2 km long beside the Mediterranean Sea.The entrance to our hotel beckons.Home Sweet Home for three nights.

On to Paris:

The view from our hotel for four nights

On the Seine River Dinner Cruise……which ended at the Eiffel Tower.Bonne nuit, mes amis!

A deep thought indeed, but putting aside the belief in the existence of a supreme being for a moment, what is the first notion that question conjures for you?

Is it the wail of a newborn when she is pushed from the womb, wet and shivering, into a cold world of bright light and jarring noise?

Is it a living being’s will and drive to survive?

Is it the slow and arduous process of becoming what your potential keeps whispering you can be, or the serendipitous ease of slipping into a role you were born to fill?

Is it what we cling to as we grow old, try to recapture, strive to enjoy in every waking moment, as the end draws ever nearer?

Could it simply be the state of being, dreaming, pondering and loving?

Or hating and enduring what the universe has given you?

Maybe, life is the constant of the everyday: the laughter of a stranger on a crowded subway, the silly song that got stuck in your head and you sang in the shower this morning, a face that suddenly smiles in your direction, a warm hug, a lover’s kiss, or a soft place to fall after a long day.

Perhaps it is the enduring memory of a giant harvest moon, the languid ripple of a pond you sat beside last summer, the smell of warm cinnamon in an apple pie, the taste of licorice, or the sweet sip of ice-cold raspberry koolaid you loved as a child.

Some of life is lived between the lines of our subconscious, in the many subtleties of our private, innermost selves.

Life is all of this and much more. It is joy and disappointment, connection and camaraderie, isolation and despair, exquisite pleasure, and acute suffering.

Life is the endurance of the human experience and the divining of purpose. Life is the continuity of unconditional love.

What do you think life is all about? What is your answer to this enduring question?

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About Jennifer

In the fall of 2010, my husband and I left the city to escape to rural life in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and we're loving every moment.
My first novel, Calmer Girls, was released in 2016 and its sequel Calmer Secrets was released in March 2017. My third novel, this time of the speculative genre, is in prepublication.

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